Robert Marawa spoke to Head Of International Relations at UEFA, Eva Pasquier and Kenny Macleod who is a UEFA Assist Official.
South Africa’s much-loved sports broadcaster Robert Marawa chats to two members of the UEFA delegation currently in South Africa
The UEFA Assist programme met with the South African Football Association on Tuesday to discuss, among other topics, the development of women’s football and the commercial aspect of the game.
The UEFA Assist programme contributes to the global development of football. So far, Assist has channeled UEFA support to more than 400 football development projects in close to 60 countries worldwide.
Robert Marawa spoke to Head of International Relations at UEFA, Eva Pasquier, and UEFA Assist Official Kenny Macleod.
One of the main topics was women’s football both on and off the field. The verdict was that on the field, the team is doing extremely well but there is work to do off it.
On the pitch it’s going great and SAFA can benchmark itself against some Europe nations.
Kenny Macleod, UEFA Assist Official
Macleod says he believes there is room to make women’s football more aspirational so that young girls look to football when they are considering what sport to play.
They have taken their eye off the ball when it comes to taking advantage of the World Cup from a brand and commercial perspective. The World Cup only comes once every four years and you need to maximize the commercial side of the tournament.
Kenny Macleod, UEFA Assist Official
Development on both the men’s and women’s sides of the game has been a topic on the South African football agenda for a while. According to Pasquier, South Africa is on the right path but changes need to be made in some areas.
She says the first step has been to equalise salaries between men and women on a national level.
It is more important to look at what is happening in provinces and regions and whether there are quality coaches and players as well as development pathways. Communication is very important. There needs to be a memorandum of understanding between the league and the federation which we haven’t found here.
Eva Pasquier – Head Of International Relations at UEFA
Watch the full video below:
This article first appeared on 947 : UEFA visiting South Africa, gives positive assessment of local football
